Assembly of replaceable wear parts on a plough body

ABSTRACT

A combination of a soil-working part and a mounting part to be provided on a plough body. The working part has a pair of opposed working tips and is configured to be mounted on the mounting part so that one of the tips is an outboard tip. The outboard tip projects from the mounting part so as to be capable of carrying out a soil-working operation in use of the plough body. The other of the tips is an inboard tip in which the working part has first and second modes of adjustment relative to the mounting part when tip wear occurs.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to an assembly of replaceable wear parts on aplough body, and is particularly, though not exclusively, concerned withan improved means of mounting reversible plough points on a ploughshareof a plough body and or share knives on a landside of a plough body.

2. Present State of the Art

It is known to provide reversible plough points or tines onploughshares, and when one working tip of the point becomes excessivelyworn, the point is demounted from a mounting part, rotated through 180°so as to bring the previously unworn tip to a working position, and thenreassembled. Usually, two separate fasteners are used to mount the pointon the mounting part, so as to provide suitably strong clamping force toclamp the parts together, and to resist shear loads generated inservice, but also to provide necessary resistance to any tendency forthe point to rotate, which would arise in the event of use of a singlefastener.

OBJECTS AND BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The formal definition of the invention is set out in the appended set ofclaims. A major objective of the invention is to provide a new andimproved combination of a soil-working projecting part and mountingpart, to be provided on a plough body, in which the soil-working part isintended to project beyond the mounting part so as to be capable ofcarrying out a soil-working operation in use of the plough body, and inwhich two different types of adjustment can be achieved when working tipwear occurs.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described in detail,by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of d plough body having a known mountingarrangement of reversible tine or point mounted on a ploughshare of theplough body;

FIGS. 2a to 2 c are, respectively, plan view, side view, and sectionalview, of a first embodiment of a combination according to the inventioncomprising a soil-working part and a mounting part to be provided on aplough body, and taking the form of a reversibly mounted tine or ploughpoint;

FIGS. 3a, b and c are illustrations of different modes of adjustment ofthe mounting position of the point relative to the mounting part;

FIG. 4a is a side view of a known arrangement of combined mounting of aplough point and a share knife on the ploughshare; and

FIG. 4b is a side view, similar to FIG. 4a, of a further embodiment ofthe invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring first to FIG. 1, a typical plough body is shown in plan view,and designated generally by reference 10, and comprising standardcomponents making-up a plough body, as will be well known to those ofordinary skill in the art, and including mouldboard 11, mouldboard wing12, ploughshare 13 and replaceable tine or plough point 14, mounted onthe forward end of ploughshare 13. The plough point 14 has a pair ofopposed working tips 15 and 16, of which tip 15 is the outboard tippresently being used as the working tip, to carry out working of thesoil during forward movement of the plough 10, whereas tip 16 is locatedinboard, and is ready for use, by reversal of the tips, when excessivewear of the outboard tip 15 occurs,

Reversal of the tips is achieved by demounting the point 14 from amounting part (not shown in detail) provided on the leading end of theploughshare 13, and then rotating the point 14 through 180°. Thesecurement of the point 14 to the mounting part is normally achieved byuse of two separate fasteners, shown by references 17 and 18 in FIG. 1.Two fasteners are required, both to securely clamp the point 14 to themounting part, and to resist shear forces generated during forwardmovement, and also to resist any tendency for the point 14 to rotateabout its mounting. Evidently, when tip reversal is required, in theevent of excessive wear, it is necessary to unfasten both of thefasteners 17 and 18, remove the point 14, rotate it through 180°, andthen represent to the mounting part, and then reassemble the fasteners.The fasteners are liable to become difficult to unfasten, by reason ofrusting or corrosion, and therefore tip reversal is a time consumingtask. Bearing in mind that a typical plough frame will have aconsiderable number of plough bodies, and especially in the case ofreversible ploughs, plough point reversal is quite a time consumingtask.

Also, the type of wear to which the tips of the point 14 are subjectedvary with the type of soil which is being ploughed. If the soilconditions are very hard, it is necessary to work the soil with a ploughpoint which has a sharp leading edge, so as to guide the plough bodydown into such hard ground. When the leading edge becomes unduly worn,it is then necessary to reverse the plough point, so that the previouslyinboard and unworn tip now becomes the outboard working tip. However, inless arduous soil or ground conditions, while wear of the plough pointtip does occur, it is less arduous, and the plough point tip thereforehas a potentially longer working life than when working in hardconditions. Thus, a partly worn tip is still capable of carrying out areasonable working operation. However, even in less arduous soilconditions, wear of the plough point tip occurs, and over a period oftime this reduces the extent by which the plough point tip projectsforwardly from the mounting part of the ploughshare 13 on which theplough point 14 is mounted, and this reduces the effectiveness of theplough point tip.

With the known arrangement of mounting of the plough point 14, it thenbecomes necessary to disassemble the mounting of the plough point 14,and remount it with the inboard tip now the outboard forwardlyprojecting tip, but this represents an under-use of the worn tip, andwhich is only rendered unusable because it is worn back too close to themounting part i.e. it does not project from it by a sufficient extent tocarry out a satisfactory engagement with the ground. If means could beprovided to advance the worn tip i.e. to increase the extent by which itprojects beyond the mounting part, then further useful life of theplough point could be achieved in less arduous conditions.

The preferred embodiments of the invention which will be described seekto provide, in a simple assembly, two separate modes of adjustment, in afirst of which there can be achieved reversal of the tips when theoutboard tip becomes worn and then becomes the inboard tip, and which isreplaced by the inboard tip which now becomes the outboard tip. In thesecond mode of adjustment, a partly worn outboard tip can be moved in adirection outwardly of the mounting part to compensate for tip wear, andwithout need for tip reversal.

FIGS. 2 and 3 of the drawings show one preferred embodiment of theinvention, comprising a combination of a soil-working part and amounting part, in which the soil-working part comprises a tine or ploughpoint. However, the invention may also be applied to other types ofsoil-working part, to be provided on a plough body, and including aso-called share knife.

A typical known arrangement of share knife will now be described withreference to FIG. 4a, and which shows, in addition to plough point 14, ashare knife 19 which is mounted on the forward end of the ploughshare 13as part of a combined assembly with the plough point 14. Thus, the samefasteners e.g. threaded bolts are used to clamp both the share knife 19,and also the plough point 14 to same mounting point on the ploughshare.This is disadvantageous, since it is usual for the plough point 14 towear out more quickly than the share knife, but both have to beunclamped and removed, when the plough point becomes unduly worn.

In a further preferred embodiment of the invention (shown in FIG. 4b),this is applied to a soil-working part in the form of a share knife(described later), and utilising generally the same coupling featureswhich are applied to the embodiment of plough point according to theinvention, which will now be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3.

Referring now to FIGS. 2 and 3, a combination of soil-working part andmounting part according to the invention is designated generally byreference 20 and comprises a reversible plough point 21 having opposedpoint tips 22 and 23 which have sharpened leading edges in order to cutinto the ground when mounted on a ploughshare. In the illustratedarrangement, the tip 22 is the outboard and working tip, whereas the tip23 is the inboard tip, ready for future use when tip 22 becomes worn.

The plough point 21 is reversibly mounted on mounting part 24 which, inturn, will be suitably mounted on a leading edge of the ploughshare (13in FIG. 1). A single fastener (not shown) e.g. a screw threaded boltwith a conical head and a nut, is used to clamp the point 21 to themounting part 24, when the fastener is tightened, but when the fasteneris partly released, it defines a pivot axis which allows rotation of thepoint 21 so as to reverse the tips 22 and 23 when the first mode ofadjustment is required following excessive wear of the tip 22.

A single mounting hole for the fastener is formed in one of the parts21, 24, and in the illustrated arrangement the single mounting hole 25is formed in the mounting part 24. First and second mounting holes 26and 27 are formed in the other of the parts i.e. in the point 21 in theillustrated embodiment, and as can be seen from FIG. 2, mounting holes26 and 27 are axially spaced from each other with respect to thelongitudinal axis 28 of the point 21 which extends between the opposedtips 22 and 23.

When a new point 21 is installed, the fastener will be received by thesingle mounting hole 25 in the mounting part 24, and will initially bemounted in the first mounting hole 26 in the point 21 Then, when tipreversal is required, adjustment of the fastener to a partly releasedposition allows relative separation between the point 21 and themounting part 24 (and disengagement of co-operating pegs and recesseswhich will be described in more detail below), so that 180° rotation ofthe point 21 can take place, about the axis of the fastener, and whichalso coincides with the axis of the single mounting hole 25 in themounting part 24, so that the first mode of adjustment can take place.

Reversal of the tips may be necessary when working in arduous or hardsoil conditions, but in less arduous conditions, in which it is notabsolutely essential to have a completely sharp leading edge of thepoint tip at all times, it may be satisfactory to continue working witha partly worn edge of the working tip. However, with progressive weareven under less arduous conditions, evidently the tip wears so as toreduce the extent by which it projects beyond the leading edge 29 of themounting part 24. In such event, the second mode of adjustment may thenbe used, whereby the fastener is removed from the aligned singlemounting hole 25 in part 24, and first mounting hole 26 in point 21,followed by forward projection of the point 21 so as to bring the secondmounting hole 27 into register with the single mounting hole 25, andcompleted by remounting of the fastener and tightening.

FIGS. 3a, b and c show these first and second modes of adjustment FIG.3a shows the initial assembly position of a newly installed point 21, inwhich the fastener extends through the first mounting hole 26. FIG. 3bshows forward adjustment of the point 21, so that the fastener thenextends through single mounting hole 25 in the mounting part 24 andthrough the second mounting hole 27. The worn profile of the working tip22 is shown in FIG. 3b by reference 22 a.

FIG. 3c shows reversal of the point 21, in the first mode of adjustment,whereby the fastener remains located in the first mounting hole 26, butin which the previously inboard unworn tip 23 is now located outboard,and the worn tip, with its profile 22 a is now rotated through 180° tothe inboard position.

The provision of the first and second mounting holes 26 and 27(preferably provided in the point 21) is a minimum requirement, althoughin practice it will be preferable to include a third mounting hole 30,so that a symmetrical arrangement is provided, whereby either tip 22 or23 can be installed initially as the inboard and non-working tip.

In the arrangement illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, it will be evident thatthe mounting hole 30 i.e. that associated with the initially installedand unworn working tip 22, serves no mechanical function, and indeedbecomes worn away with the wearing of the working tip 22 to take-up theworn profile 22 a.

There was described briefly above the provision of additional means toclamp the point 21 to the mounting part 24, when the fastener istightened, and this comprises a co-operating set of four pegs andcorresponding recesses, provided on the point 21 and part 24. Theco-operation between the pegs and recesses couples the parts 21 and 24together against rotation about the axis of the fastener when the partsare clamped together. In the illustrated arrangement, the set of fourpegs is provided on the point 21, and as shown by reference 31, whereasthe corresponding four recesses are provided in the mounting part 24,and as shown by reference 32.

Each of the four pegs 31 is received by a respective one of the recesses32 in each of the positions of tip reversal which can be taken-up by thefirst mode of adjustment i.e. in either of positions shown in FIGS. 3aor 3 c. Obviously, the geometry of the arrangements of the pegs andrecesses must be such as to allow interfitting between the pegs andrecesses to take place, in either position of adjustment through 180°about the axis of the fastener.

However, when the second mode of adjustment takes place, as shown inFIG. 3b, only two of trip four pegs 31 are received by respectiverecesses 32, and with the remaining two pegs now being located in theforwardly projected position beyond the leading edge 29 of the mountingpart 24. However, even in the position of FIG. 3b, the two pegs whichinterfit in the respective recesses provide significant resistance torotation of the point 21 about the axis of the fastener, and therebyminimise the shear loads applied to the fastener in service.

As mentioned above, the means of clamping, and adjusting the ploughpoint 21 to the mounting part 24 may also be utilised in the separateassembly of a share knife to a suitable mounting position on a ploughbody (compare with known means of assembly of share knife 19 shown inFIG. 4a). This is a new means of mounting a share knife, and which canbe mounted in a single fixing hole and using four pegs as shown in FIG.4b (described in more detail below). In practice, the share knife can befastened in the foremost hole provided in the landside of the plough,although it will be necessary to form recesses around this hole to matchthe pegs formed in the share knife. The fastening process and theclamping can then be the same as described above for the point. Theshare knife can therefore be replaced independently of the adjustment ofthe points, and the share knife adjustment also requires removal of onescrew or bolt. This means that the share knife can be positioned to aposition more rearwardly than in known arrangements, and this can beadvantageous, because there will then be a greater distance between theshare knife and the disc coulter blades in the circumstances where disccoulters are used.

Referring now in detail to the illustration of the preferred embodimentshown in FIG. 4b, a reversible plough point 21 is mounted on plough body10 in generally similar manner to that described above with reference toFIGS. 2 and 3, and a replaceable share knife 40 is mounted on thelandside 41 of the plough body 10. Share knife 40 is mounted by a singlefastener 42, eg a bolt or screw, and a cooperating array of (four)surrounding pegs/recesses shown by reference 43.

The soil-working parts (plough points and/or share knives) to which theinvention is applied will usually be manufactured by hot forging to tiledesired shape. Simultaneously, necessary fixing holes are punched, andin addition a number of pegs are formed in one of the parts andcorresponding number of recesses on the other parts are forged.

The new fastening method of assembly will be particularly suitable foruse in mounting reversible points on a ploughshare, and the fastening ofa share knife to a landside.

It should be understood that the number of pegs/recesses used to mountthe replaceable share knife (40) is not critical and may be four asshown in FIG. 4b, or could be other numbers, such as two, three, orfive.

With regard to the mounting of the plough point, an arrangement of fourpegs/recesses is preferred, but other symmetrical arrangements may beused, provided that they permit (a) rotation through 180° to reverse thepoint tips and (b) lengthwise adjustment between the first and secondmodes of adjustment. By way of example, two, four or six pegs/recessesmay form different sets which can be used.

What is claimed is:
 1. A combination of a soil-working part and amounting part to be provided on a plough body, said working part havinga pair of opposed working tips and being intended to be mounted on saidmounting part so that one of said tips is an outboard tip which projectsfrom the mounting part so as to be capable of carrying out asoil-working operation in use of the plough body, and the other of saidtips is an inboard tip, in which: (a) the working part has first andsecond modes of adjustment relative to the mounting part when tip wearoccurs; (b) the first mode of adjustment can be carried out whenreversal of the tips is required whereby the worn outboard tip becomesthe inboard tip, and the inboard tip becomes the outboard tip; (c) thesecond mode of adjustment can be carried out when a worn outboard tip isrequired to be moved in a direction outwardly of the mounting part tocompensate for tip wear; (d) a single fastener is operative to connectthe working part to the mounting part, said fastener when tightenedclamping the parts together and when partly released defining a pivotaxis which allows rotation of the working part so as to reverse thetips, when the first mode of adjustment is required; (e) a singlemounting hole is formed in a first of said parts, and first and secondmounting holes are formed in a second of said parts and which areaxially spaced from each other with respect to the longitudinal axis ofthe working part which extends between the opposed tips; in which thefastener is receivable by said single mounting hole and is initiallymountable in the first of said mounting holes when the working part isinstalled, and is mountable in the second of said mounting holes whentip wear requires increased projection of the outboard tip when thesecond mode of adjustment is carried out; and, (f) a set of four pegsand a set of co-operating recesses are provided on said parts and whichare able to co-operate in order to couple the parts together againstrotation about the axis of the fastener when the parts are clampedtogether, the arrangement being such that (i) each of the four pegs isreceivable by a respective recess in each position of tip reversal whichcan be taken-up by the first mode of adjustment, and (ii) two of thepegs can be received each by a respective recess when the second mode ofadjustment is carried out, in which the fastener is moved from the firstmounting hole to the second mounting hole in order to increase theprojection of a worn tip from the leading edge of the mounting part. 2.A combination according to claim 1, in which a third mounting hole isprovided spaced axially in an opposite direction from the first mountinghole than the second mounting hole, and by the same distance, so as toprovide a symmetrical arrangement.
 3. A combination according to claim1, in which the single mounting hole is provided in the mounting part,and the other mounting holes are provided in the soil-working part.
 4. Acombination according to claim 1, in which the soil-working partcomprises a plough point or tine.
 5. A combination according to claim 1,in which the soil-working part comprises a share knife.
 6. A plough bodyhaving a pair of combinations mounted thereon, each combinationcomprising a soil-working part and a mounting part, said working parthaving a pair of opposed working tips and being intended to be mountedon said mounting part so that one of said tips is an outboard tip whichprojects from the mounting part so as to be capable of carrying out asoil-working operation in use of the plough body, and the other of saidtips is an inboard tip, in which: (a) the working part has first andsecond modes of adjustment relative to the mounting part when tip wearoccurs; (b) the first mode of adjustment can be carried out whenreversal of the tips is required whereby the worn outboard tip becomesthe inboard tip, and the inboard tip becomes the outboard tip; (c) thesecond mode of adjustment can be carried out when a worn outboard tip isrequired to be moved in a direction outwardly of the mounting part tocompensate for tip wear; (d) a single fastener is operative to connectthe working part to the mounting part, said fastener when tightenedclamping the parts together and when partly released defining a pivotaxis which allows rotation of the working part so as to reverse thetips, when the first mode of adjustment is required; (e) a singlemounting hole is formed in a first of said parts, and first and secondmounting holes are formed in a second of said parts and which areaxially spaced from each other with respect to the longitudinal axis ofthe working part which extends between the opposed tips; in which thefastener is receivable by said single mounting hole and is initiallymountable in the first of said mounting holes when the working part isinstalled, and is mountable in the second of said mounting holes whentip wear requires increased projection of the outboard tip when thesecond mode of adjustment is carried out; and, (f) a set of four pegsand a set of co-operating recesses are provided on said parts and whichare able to co-operate in order to couple the parts together againstrotation about the axis of the fastener when the parts are clampedtogether, the arrangement being such that (i) each of the four pegs isreceivable by a respective recess in each position of tip reversal whichcan be taken-up by the first mode of adjustment, and (ii) two of thepegs can be received each by a respective recess when the second mode ofadjustment is carried out, in which the fastener is moved from the firstmounting hole to the second mounting hole in order to increase theprojection of a worn tip from the leading edge of the mounting part; thesoil-working part of one of said combinations having the form of aplough point, and the soil-working part of the other combination havingthe form of a share knife, each combination being mounted on a separatepart of the plough body.
 7. A plough body according to claim 6, in whichthe plough point is mounted on a ploughshare of the plough body and theshare knife is mounted on the landside of the plough body.
 8. A ploughbody according to claim 7, in which the plough point is mounted on theplough share via cooperating sets of one, two, or more pairs ofcooperating pegs and recesses.
 9. A plough body according to claim 7, inwhich the share knife is mounted on the landside of the plough body viaa single fastener, and two or more cooperating pegs/recesses.